Category: Penny Pulpit

Msg #1413 The Hobby Lobby Battle is The Lords.

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice 

Conception involves three entities coming together. As immorality devours the thought and intents of American society and “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,” a Bible believer needs to be very specific in this understanding. An egg and a sperm in a “test-tube” or a fallopian-tube, without a receptive womb, does not constitute conception. Only the fertile egg cleaving to the womb constitutes conception, wherein another human is formed. In a moral society that little individual has certain inalienable rights and protections. Any purposeful separation of the human life from its sustenance of life is thus immoral. The Hobby Lobby and the Amish Furniture Factory is not contesting religious rights as much as they are contesting a humanist government that would force them to partake in an immoral act. Christians are to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you. (1Pet 3:15) We have no exception for this particular issue. We need to be even the more clear after Roman ideas have muddied the water around the truth. It is not a “religious” issue. It is a moral truth. A truth, not just because of God's Text, but because of the obvious Biology Text as well. With Obama in power and the ACLU lawyers emboldened, Christians face waves of attacks against their freedom. Jehoshaphat, a king no stranger to compromised righteousness, prayed, “O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.” (2Chron 20:12) You gotta love God's response. “Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. (vr.15b) 

An Essay for week #13 03/30/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch 

Msg #1423 Unjust Stewards, Mammon, Law and Grace.

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice 

    Luke chapter 16 is unique out of all the chapter outlines of Scripture. It curiously leads with a strange parable addressed to his disciples. An unjust steward, was caught wasting his masters goods was to be fired. For his own gain, he entreated his lord's debtors mercifully, to where even his master commended the unjust steward for his genius. Generally parables have only one major truth that is being emphasized, this one has four called out. 1) The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. God does not expect Christians to use the methods of the world, but to at least have the savvy of the world. 2) Use the mammon of unrighteousness to make to yourselves friends. If you have a Ranger Bass boat, use it for eternal purposes, use it to be a gospel witness. 3) Be faithful in that which is least. Some of us do not have a Ranger Bass boat, nonetheless… 4) No servant can serve two masters. Daily, be certain who your master is, … with all your heart, soul and mind. Aimed at disciples, this parable did not set well with the covetous Pharisees, and they derided him. In this chapter Jesus rebukes them and their “letter-of-the-law” mentality. The law and the prophets are being replaced, more exactly “fulfilled”, by the incoming kingdom of God that Jesus preached. Two notes; Luke 16:18 is not Jesus' teaching on divorce, it is his illustration of the harsh exactness of the law, in contrast to the supreme grace found in the kingdom of God. Also, the accounting of the certain rich man and of Lazarus given in the close of this chapter, is the capstone of the truths presented in this chapter. Rereading Luke 16 is beneficial. 

An Essay for week #23 06/08/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg #1437 The Faith of a Friend

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Abram, the friend of God, believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness, but he never even came to know God by his first name. It is not that the LORD did not reveal his proper name to Abram, “I am the LORD” (Gen15:7, Exod 6:2). God said it to Abram and to Moses. But he also told Moses, “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH (LORD) was I not known to them” (Exod 6:3). Bible believers are conservatives who despise progressive ideas. Progressive Liberals trust Karl Marx's doctrine that capitalism must progress to socialism, then evolve to communism. Just the same, God uses progressive revelation to reveal himself and all his plans to man. Today we have all 66 books, and know God's first name, but don't have all the faith that Abram displayed. Genesis 15 is interesting because God says to Abram “I am the LORD,” and Abram does not get it. Even though Abram missed a lot, what he did get he thoroughly believed. That pleased God. God tells Abram all his plans for all Abram's seed. He passes through an exotic multifaceted sacrifice with him. He appeared to him as a smoking furnace and a burning lamp (15:17). Much later Ezekiel gave a more progressive picture of God's mobile presence, it was a glowing wheel in the middle of a wheel. There was more revealed to Abram than he could take in, but he believed everything he could comprehend. Thus, he is called the father of faith, and the friend of God. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen… without faith it is impossible to please him” (Heb11:1,6) Be His friend.

An Essay for week #37 09/14/2014

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Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140914.mp3

View Thesis “Reformed Theology NOT” at www.Theology.GSBaptistChurch.com

Msg #1424 Fathers and Sons

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Paul writes, ”To… my dearly beloved son,” and captures the whole spirit of fatherhood in his second letter to Timothy. As a father figure to Timothy, Paul is steadfast and unmovable. He encourages his son to be the same. Fathers need to be certain about some things. In his salutation, Paul was certain about his calling, certain about his promise of eternal life, and certain about his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ (2Tim 1:1) Fathers also need to have an occupation, and that needs to include their sons. In the same salutation, Paul says, “I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee…” Paul not only had an occupation, he had a pre-occupation! His pre-occupation included his son, to where he understood what his son was doing, what his son was feeling, and what his son was going through. Every father could learn something from Paul’s relationship with Timothy. A son is always on a quest to fill the expectations of a father or a father figure. Paul uses great wisdom in this letter. He subtly lets Timothy know that as a son he has met every expectation and fulfilled every charge that Paul had for him. Now Timothy only needed to “hold fast the form of sound words which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” (1:13) And so Paul, again, gives his son this charge. Would to God that we could communicate so wisely, and secure such a powerful relationship with our sons.

An Essay for week #24 06/15/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140615.mp3

Msg #1435 Sanctification and Friendship

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

“Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends” (John 15:15), a friend of God. A son of Eber obeyed God and set out looking “for a city which hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God” (Heb 11) When he crossed over one Jordan River, his path took him to friendship with God. It is a path worthy of our consideration. “Hebrew” defined, are son's of Eber, ones from beyond, who multiplied in God's blessing. They were given the oracles of God which give Abram's account. Genesis 13 details Abram's second step towards this friendship, he had to separate from things before he could have an association with God. The Hebrew tongue has a word for association, it is Hebron, which is where Abram was camped in the last verse of this chapter. The chapter opens with Abram camped between the house of God (Hbrw- Bethel) and a heap of ruin (Hbrw- Hai) and it details his separation from his kindred (Lot), his kindred's wealth, aspirations, and evil eye. The Bible says Lot had a righteous soul, (2Pet 2:7-8) but God was pleased when Abram separated himself from Lot's pernicious way. When walking toward God one needs separation from the world, but sometimes we need to separate from believers in their error. Even a believer can operate like a wolf in sheep's clothing, doing great harm to the cause of Christ. Even though Lot was a believer, family, and companion, when Abram separated from him, God expanded Abram's promise, and led him to the plain of strength and fatness (Hbrw- Mamre). There God reestablished his association. (Hbrw- Hebron). Sanctified means separated unto God, and sanctification is an essential to friendship with God.

An Essay for week #35 08/31/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140831.mp3

“Reformed Theology Is Not A Biblical Theology ” found at http://www.gsbaptistchurch.com/seminary/master_thesis/thesis_reformed.pdf

Msg #1433 LORD, Shepherd, Lord and Christ

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The psalmist and shepherd, King David, writes some things about Jehovah God which are so eternal that twenty elder lips whispered them in unison in a nursing home in upstate New York. That is three thousand and thirty years after the psalmist wrote. The six sentences penned in the Twenty Third Psalm have been memorized by more humans than any declaration in the history of humanity. The present tense and indicative mood of “be” is “is.” It is not that the LORD, with all caps, “was” my shepherd, nor that the LORD, the most personal and revered name of Jehovah God, “will soon be” my shepherd. It is the present tense, absolutely assured form of “be.” The LORD is, presently, right now, an assured possession in a positive relationship, my shepherd. Jesus, who was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth, took the acclaimed name of Jehovah God, “I Am”, and declared, “I am the good Shepherd” (John10:11). Three hundred years after the psalmist's pen, the Prophet Isaiah wrote, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD (all caps) hath laid on him (his wounded, bruised despised servant (vr3n5)) the iniquity of us all” (Isa53:6).Seven hundred and eighty odd years later an old fisherman, who had set aside nets and become a fisher of men, wrote it this way, “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1Pet2:25) Today the blood bought and born-again can say with the assurance of the psalmist, “The LORD is my Shepherd.” Others, not-so-much.

An Essay for week #33 08/17/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140817.mp3

“REFORMED THEOLOGY IS NOT A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY ” found at http://www.gsbaptistchurch.com/seminary/master_thesis/thesis_reformed.pdf

Msg #1434 Being a Friend of God

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Three Bible characters were called the friend of God. In Genesis 12 Abram walks onto the page of our Bible to be the first. “But thou Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend” (Isa 41:8, cf 2Chron 20:7, James 2:23). Jesus told his disciples “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Thirty seven hundred years ago God carefully recorded details of Abram's walk into friendship. It is for our benefit. Abram, who never even got to know God by his “first-name” (Exod 6:3) had a tough row to hoe. He started his journey with great promise, partial obedience, crippled faith, and no trust. God “had said” (past tense) to get out from kindred (11:31), but Abram took them with him. God said “I will give this land,” but a famine scared Abram into Egypt. God said “I will make of thee a great nation” (12:2), and Abram said, “The Egyptians will kill me” (12:12). The inspired, inerrant word of God is profitable for correction, to keep us on track, and for reproof to get us off a wrong track. Abram had to come all the way back to an altar he had built to get back on the right track. That altar, the Bible is specific, was east of Bethel and west of Hai. Neither city had been founded yet, but the meaning is east of the “house of God” and west of the “heap of ruin.” God was so tender with Abram, and he is with us. A friend's reproofs are necessary, learn from them, Abram did.

An Essay for week #34 08/24/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140824.mp3

“Reformed Theology Is Not A Biblical Theology ” found at http://www.gsbaptistchurch.com/seminary/master_thesis/thesis_reformed.pdf

Msg #1430 Take Away the Stone

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

When Jesus came to the tomb of Lazarus, where his claim of being the resurrection and the life would first be substantiated, and the glory of the Christ would once more be revealed, Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Believers know he could have levitated the stone away or spoken the word and dissolved it into sand or less. It is oft found in life that before the glory of the Christ can be revealed there is something man must do. Abraham cleaved his own covenant signifying sacrifices (Gen 15); Isaac dug his wells; Jacob stacked his pillars of stones; Sampson searched out a jaw bone; Samuel stacked his own 12 stones, as did Elijah; David used his own wit at Engedi; the stone needed remove from the tomb, before the glory of God would be revealed. Martha was told what was to happen but could not believe it, the crowd had no idea but each had to incorporate obedience to Jesus before they could see the Christ. Perhaps the stone on your your tomb is confusion or complacency. We may sing the lyrics “Trust and obey, for there is no other way,” and little comprehend that truth. Perhaps a stone of covetousness or conceit is keeping that decaying carcass in a tomb. Perhaps a stone of contention, or contrariness blocks the glory of Christ from being revealed. Some tombs still hold the dead because of compromise or coldness. There was a stone on Lazarus' tomb and Jesus asked those present to remove it before he prayed to his Father and called out Lazarus. We needn't get a candle to search out leaven, nor a kerchief to get a moat out of an eye, when stones over tombs are in plain view. The Resurrection-and-Life said, “Take away the stone.”

An Essay for week #30 07/27/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140727.mp3

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

Jesus said “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (Matt 10:34-36) It is amazing that when the Resurrection and the Life rose Lazarus from the tomb, there was a decisive division amongst the Jews. “Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees…” (John 11:45-46a) When going in two opposite directions, as is true for these believers and the unbelievers, there is no compromise or middle ground, there is only a greater and widening divide. The unbelieving faction went so far as to desire the death of Lazarus. The depths of an unbelievers depravity has no foreseeable limit, nor should the depths of a believers compassion. With eyes to see each could say, “But for the grace of God, there go I.” The progressive-liberal and the conservative Christian are going in opposite directions. The big-bang evolutionist and the born-again Creationist, believing in a 6 day creation, are going in opposite directions. The fundamental Muslim and the fundamental Christian, are going in opposite directions. There is no middle ground, and their can be no compromise. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, must arm themselves for a pending conflict. The primary weapon needs to be the compassion of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the primary tactic, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, … humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Onward, Christian soldiers.

An Essay for week #32 08/10/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140810.mp3

Msg #1431 Only The Son Descended and Ascended

What The Bible Says

Good Samaritan's Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice

At Lazarus's tomb, before the miracle of his resurrection, the prayer that Jesus made was for our benefit not his. “That they”, said he, and we, “might believe that (God, the Father) hast sent me.” (John 11:41, 42) Believing in Jesus, descending from heaven, as the Messiah, the Christ, is the substance of salvation. You will not be quickened without it. John closes his written gospel witness, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and the believing ye might have life through his name.” Three “verily, verily” statements, (in Greek they are “Amen, Amen” statements) made in chapter 5 emphasize this truth about everlasting life and the resurrection of the dead. Verily, verily, I say unto you, 1) the Son can do nothing of himself,…. 2) He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life,… and 3) The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (vr 19, 24 and 25) This lecture is on the Son's ability to “quicken whom he will”, (vr21) and has its crowning illustration in the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus mentions to Nicodemus that the “Son of man” must come down from heaven and ascend back heaven. (John 3:13) Paul includes, in his dissertation on salvation, the necessary belief that the Son must descend and ascend. (Rom 10:6,7) One cannot be saved without the doctrine of the trinity and the belief that Jesus is the Christ.”For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)

An Essay for week #31 08/03/2014

In paperback at www.lulu.com/spotlight/GSBaptistChurch

Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs140803.mp3